Amazon.com shares fell sharply after the technology giant unveiled plans for a massive increase in AI-related spending and fourth-quarter growth in its cloud-computing unit that was slower than rivals. The company said it expects $200 billion in 2026 capital spending, a nearly 60% increase from last year and far above Wall Street expectations. Amazon’s stock fell by about 10% in after-hours trading. The results underscore investor angst about spending increases for artificial intelligence. Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Alphabet’s Google, Amazon and Oracle, which are all scrambling to build and finance data centers because of a massive increase in AI-related computing demands, collectively plan to spend more than $700 billion in 2026, according to the companies and analyst projections. That is close to the 2026 spending budget for Japan and exceeds those of Germany and Mexico. Shareholders have responded unevenly to spending increases, rewarding Meta and Google due to positive improvements in advertising and other businesses while punishing Microsoft and Amazon for not growing their AI-related businesses quickly enough. With spending on data centers outpacing growth in revenue, investors are concerned that tech companies are spending too quickly. Amazon says it is selling data-center capacity as quickly as it can bring it online. The company says it believes the demand is long-term.

The Swiss stock market closed lower on Thursday evening, lacking enthusiasm after the European Central Bank (ECB) decided to leave its key interest rate unchanged at 2%. In the United States, technology stocks were once again causing concern among investors. On the Swiss stock market, the SMI ended the session down 0.31% at 13,466.04 points, with a high of 13,516.31 and a low of 13,378.60. The SLI fell 0.37% to 2,147.97 points, while the SPI dropped 0.19% to 18,583.04 points. Of the 30 leading stocks, eleven rose, eighteen fell and one ended unchanged (Galderma). The day's top performers were Straumann (+3.3%), SGS (+2.6%) and Lindt (+2.2%). Richemont (+1.5%) finished in the green. After selling its watch brand Baume & Mercier at the end of January, the luxury goods giant is reportedly willing to part with another of its Swiss brands, Jaeger-LeCoultre, according to a source close to the matter.

Europe
The major European stock markets closed in the red on Thursday following the interest rate decision and commentary from the European Central Bank. The markets were mixed and little changed in morning trade but turned lower after the ECB's announcement. The central bank left interest rates unchanged for a fifth policy session in a row as expected, but the outlook warned of a challenging global economy pressured by ongoing trade wars and geopolitical conflicts. The Governing Council, led by ECB President Christine Lagarde, held the benchmark interest rate - the deposit rate, steady at 2 percent. The refinancing rate was retained at 2.15 percent and the marginal lending rate at 2.40 percent. The bank expects inflation in the euro area to stabilize at its 2.00 percent target in the medium term. The continued rotation out of technology stocks added to the negative sentiment. Germany's DAX sank 111.98 points or 0.46 percent to finish at 24,491, while the FTSE in London dropped 93.12 points or 0.90 percent to close at 10,309.22 and the CAC 40 in France fell 23.99 points or 0.29 percent to end at 8,23817. In Germany, Deutsche Bank tumbled 3.94 percent, while Volkswagen slumped 3.68 percent, Deutsche Borse rallied 3.50 percent, Infineon Technologies jumped 2.73 percent, Siemens Energy dropped 1.72 percent, Heidelberg Materials sank 1.55 percent, Deutsche Telekom advanced 0.72 percent, Vonovia added 0.36 percent and Deutsche Post dipped 0.16 percent. In London, Entain plummeted 4.81 percent, while Vodafone plunged 4.68 percent, Shell tanked 3.40 percent, Prudential tumbled 3.29 percent, Experian jumped 2.95 percent, Autotrader retreated 2.63 percent, Compass Group declined 1.94 percent, Centrica slumped 1.60 percent, British American Tobacco climbed 1.36 percent, Rightmove dropped 1.20 percent and Rolls-Royce lost 0.82 percent.

United States
Following the mixed performance seen in the previous session, the major U.S. stock indexes all moved sharply lower during trading on Thursday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the way lower, tumbling to its lowest closing level in over two months. The major averages ended the day off their worst levels of the session but still firmly negative. The Nasdaq plunged 363.99 points or 1.6 percent to 22,540.59, the S&P 500 tumbled 84.32 points or 1.2 percent to 6,798.40 and the Dow slumped 592.58 points or 1.2 percent to 48,908.72. Weakness among tech stocks continued to weigh on Wall Street amid a significant decrease by shares of Qualcomm (QCOM). Qualcomm plummeted by 8.5 percent after the chipmaker reported fiscal first quarter earnings that exceeded estimates but provided disappointing guidance for the current quarter. Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) ended the day well off its lows but still dipped by 0.5 percent after the company reported better than expected fourth quarter results but forecast a sharp increase in capital spending in 2026. Tech stocks have moved sharply lower over the past few sessions amid concerns about valuations and the impact of artificial intelligence. In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by much more than expected in the week ended January 31st.

Asia
There are slight green signs in Tokyo, where chip and machine exporters are benefiting from a weaker yen. The Japanese currency initially trended lower after a senior representative of the Bank of Japan signalled that the normalisation of monetary policy would proceed ‘in a timely and appropriate manner’.

Bonds
In the U.S. bond market, treasuries moved sharply higher in reaction to the latest U.S. jobs data. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, slumped 6.5 basis points to 4.210 percent.

Analysis
UBS raises Implenia target to CHF 100 (75) – Buy
UBS raises OMV target to EUR 55 (52) – Buy
UBS lowers Publicis target to EUR 109 (111) – Buy

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